Match Preview: Southampton v Spurs (will this be another banana skin game for us?)

Match Preview: Southampton v Spurs (will this be another banana skin game for us?)

Match facts about our game against Southampton

Since their return to the Premier League in 2012, Southampton have won just two of their 10 home games against us (D3 L5); these wins came consecutively; in March 2019 and January 2020.

We are looking to complete the League double over Saints for the seventh time; the only other clubs we've achieved this against Man City (9), Aston Villa (7) and Everton (7).

Southampton have scored at least once in their last 14 Premier League games against us since a 2-0 home loss in December 2015. However, they've kept just one clean sheet in their previous 21 against us, a 1-0 win in January 2020.

Between December 2019 and January 2021, Southampton won five of six League games against sides starting the day in the top four of the table. However, since then, the Saints have been winless in 15 games (D6 L9), conceding 43 goals and scoring just nine in return.

In all competitions, we have lost each of our last four away games, the last three without scoring. It's our longest run of away defeats in succession since May 2019 (5 in a row), while not since January 1983 have we lost four straight away matches, all without scoring (a run of 5).

James Ward-Prowse has been involved in more Premier League goals against us than he has any other opponent (8 – 4 goals, 4 assists). He opened the scoring for the Saints in the reverse fixture this season but hasn't scored home and away against us in the same campaign before.

Harry Kane has been directly involved in 17 goals in 15 Premier League appearances against Southampton (11 goals, 6 assists), only having a hand in more against Leicester (22 – 18 goals, 4 assists). Kane is one goal away from scoring 10 away Premier League goals in a seventh different season. No other player in the competition's history has done so more than four times.

Son has scored more Premier League goals against Southampton than he has against any other opponent (10). He has scored 99 Premier League goals overall and would be the first Asian player to reach 100 in the competition.

Against no side has Richarlison scored more Premier League goals than he has against Southampton, with his five goals coming in his last seven games against them. He is yet to score in 18 Premier League appearances for us.

Match Review…

This game sees two sides desperately needing the points, but for different reasons.

Southampton needs the points to help them escape relegation, while we need them to help cement our position in the top four.

Southampton were beaten by Brentford this week 2-0, while we beat Nottingham Forest 3-1.

A well-worked set-piece routine ended with Ivan Toney prodding home the game's opening goal on the 32-minute mark, and the striker soon turned provider for Yoane Wissa, who raced through to slot home merely seconds after Southampton had lost a duel from a goal-kick.

Southampton were unfortunate not to have beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford to remaining bottom of the table with a mortifying loss to Brentford. Southampton still only have a two-point gap separating them from the safety of the 17th spot.

As for Tottenham…

…Richarlison may have seen a strike chalked off within three minutes as his wait for a first Premier League goal continues. Still, Harry Kane's 19th and 20th goals of the season preceded a final Son effort before Joe Worrall gave the Forest a consolation goal. A miserable week was brought to an end.

Our goalkeeper, Forster, became a hero when he saved a penalty from Andre Ayew. Our fourth-placed standing in the Premier League table remains safe for now.

We are out of sight of Liverpool, however, Newcastle United have two games in hand to make up a four-point shortfall. This means a top-four spot remains out of our hands.

We travel to St Mary's, having suffered an awful four away defeats in succession across all tournaments, failing to score in each of our last three against AC Milan, Sheffield United and Wolves.

It has been just over 40 years since we last lost four successive away games without finding the back of the net, but we ambled to a 4-1 success over Southampton during the opening weekend of the 2022-23 season, having been held to a 1-1 draw at St Mary's last season.

Southampton Premier League form:

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Southampton form (all competitions):

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Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

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Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

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Team News

Southampton…

Ex-Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker-Peters suffers from a hamstring concern in the loss to Brentford and will need assessing in the coming days. Valentino Livramento remains out of contention alongside Juan Larios. Meanwhile, Arsenic loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles is still nursing a knock and will need to be checked over, limiting Selles's right-back options further.

Spurs…

Our long-term injured: Hugo Lloris, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ryan Sessegnon all remain absent, while there is also a question mark hanging over the head of Emerson Royal, who has been battling a knock.

Since Emerson's purple patch ended, Pedro Porro has seemingly cemented his place in the XI. At the same time, Richarlison should certainly hold the fort up front again, having improved his self-confessed "shit" fortunes with a star-studded showing against Forest.

The stage is set for Richarlison to finally break his Premier League duck for us, as he has five goals against the Saints in the Premier League - a personal high - while Son is one away from bringing up a century of English top-flight goals.

My possible starting lineup:

Forster; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Porro, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Davies; Richarlison, Kane, Son

My prediction…

Even though I keep predicting results in our favour – and I haven't always been accurate (no kidding!) – this is a potential banana skin game for us. Games like this, which we are expected to win, have a habit of tripping us up.

So I say… Southampton 1 Spurs 4, with Kane, Son and Richarlson scoring.

A continued lack of ruthlessness and midweek fatigue will no doubt work against the Saints. But do we possess the desired attacking formula on the road, either? Goals may be at a premium for the Saints, but a refreshed Spurs yield should boost our top-four chances at the expense of Southampton's survival hopes.

COYS!

Glenn